


Mirror, mirror

by UpInOrbit



Series: 50 word prompts [5]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Mentioned or implied OT8, Mentions of Blood, Snow White retelling, fairytale style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27266866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpInOrbit/pseuds/UpInOrbit
Summary: “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?”“My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Hyunjin is a thousand times more beautiful than you.”Or a Snow White retelling with Hyunjin as the prince.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Series: 50 word prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920427
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Mirror, mirror

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaahhh here it is, my first Stray kids project!! It started small and then it grew into this, but I'm very excited!!  
> I tried to write it in a more fairytale style if that makes sense, and I hope you'll enjoy it! It is also inspired by the word 'mirror' in the 50 prompts challenge, so another one down ^^  
> This fic is a bday gift for Oka so: ¡¡muchísimas felicidades guapísima, espero que te guste!!  
> That said, I really hope you'll enjoy it!

_Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?_

_“My queen, you are the fairest in the land.”_

The day the prince turned twenty and one of age, it rained. Celebrations were to be held in his honour, but as one day changed into another, the skies opened up and rain fell upon them.

It poured for hours on end, so much that the townspeople barricaded themselves in their homes, no one setting a foot outside. The shops remained empty, windows closed shut, and the celebrations were cancelled when not even the Sun could shine through the thick layer of clouds that covered the skies, turning midday into the witching hour.

It was said that rain cleansed the airs and purified them, but as the rain wouldn’t cease to fall, it seemed like a bad omen rather than something to be grateful for.

Maybe they’d done something to incur in the wrath of the skies, the people whispered, a murmur that was drowned under the incessant rain. 

Maybe this is our punishment, and it will rain until we’ve drowned and the town disappears under the water, they cried as they huddled closer, hands linked together and eyes firmly shut, as if that could keep the rain at bay.

High above them, in the tallest balcony on the tallest tower of the castle, where the cries of her subjects could not reach her, the queen watched the rain fall. Her hair fell loose and down to her waist, so long it floated behind her like a cape as the wind blew relentlessly against her. 

Despite its strength, she did not waver. Despite its strength, she stood where she was, feet firmly planted on the tiles of the floor, not even a flicker of pain in her eyes as the wind ran its cold fingers through her hair, tangling it into a thousand painful knots that tugged at her scalp.

With barely a flick of her wrist, the window panels closed themselves shut, keeping the rain outside even as the wind continued to howler, growing in its intensity, as if it were hell-bent on bringing the tower down.

Ignoring the storm raging outside, the queen walked towards the left side of the room, a white sheet covering half of it. Pulling on the sheet with both her hands, she uncovered the object it was hiding from view, and stepped aside as the cloth pooled at her feet.

The mirror was taller than she was, and twice as wide. Its frame was golden, thick vines running up and down in delicate patterns, but so razor-sharp one could be cut just by looking at them. The glass had been polished, again and again until it was crystal clear, the reflection a perfect copy of what was standing in front of it, but the glass was dark, almost black, and for a moment, that was all it showed back.

Then, it rippled, and the queen’s reflection came to be: fair skin, dark eyes framed by dark lashes, a beautiful face with high cheekbones sitting on a long and graceful neck. Her lips were blood red, the teeth a pearly white as she smiled, and her hair a cascade of obsidian hair that almost shone when the lightning behind her began to struck. 

“My Queen,” the reflection curtsied, her movements not making a sound.

The queen ignored it, her mind fixated on the familiar next step of their routine. 

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?” She asked, her head held high, hands hidden in the folds of her dress.

The reflection tilted her head to the side, an amused glint to her eyes, and the queen’s heart faltered in its steps. That was not familiar. That was not part of their routine. And just like the rain outside, it could only mean one thing: something was coming.

“My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Hyunjin is a thousand times more beautiful than you,” as the mirror-queen spoke, thunder roared outside, the wind rattling the windows until the wooden frame groaned in pain, as if to second her words.

Bobbing her head slightly, the reflection disappeared, mirth obvious in her eyes as she left the queen standing there, frozen. The words echoed in her head until they lost all meaning, until all she could see was fair skin, dark eyes and a face that was more beautiful than hers. 

They spun and spun, speaking of her decline and death, as she was replaced by someone more beautiful than herself, until she couldn’t stand it anymore and fell to her knees, screaming in anger, a thousand shards of glass coating the floor when the queen’s magic rolled in waves from her, making the windows tremble and shatter.

The queen looked up, at the mirror that stared, blank, at her, and stood up on legs that were shaking almost too badly to keep her upright. As she walked towards her balcony she didn’t notice the rain soaking her clothes, or the flicker of the lights just outside of her castle, not even the way lightning struck, reflected on the shards of glass that covered the room, and made into a miniature inferno of white flames. 

Instead, her mind filled with images of a prince that had just turned twenty and one, and would soon surpass her.

Around her, the rain continued to pour, more violently than before, and the wind roared until it drowned even the beat of her heart. 

***

The hunter knelt in the middle of the throne room, so close to the floor it was as if he were trying to become one with it. He’d been escorted by a pair of guards, been roughly pushed to his knees when they approached the throne. He hadn’t even gotten a glimpse at the queen sitting on it, before he turned his eyes to the floor, his fringe brushing the polished marble beneath him.

The queen had said nothing, at first, content to watch him grovel, as he patiently waited for her to acknowledge his presence.

“Rise, hunter,” the queen finally ordered, her voice rippling through the air towards him, smooth and melodic in its coldness.

Obeying, the hunter stood up, sneaking only the briefest of glances on the queen before casting his eyes back down. It was enough to catch a glimpse of her, to see her terse skin, standing out against the inky black of her hair, and her eyes as dark as a night without stars.

Queen Siyeon was as gorgeous as they said, beautiful enough to steal the heart of even a king. She had been no one, nothing, before the king had married her, almost two decades ago, and she was as beautiful as she had been back then, if not even more.

Still, the hunter knew better than to get caught on those eyes, that studied him as if she was dissecting him, looking for weaknesses. He willed himself to breathe as softly as possible, to reduce himself to just a shadow of his usual self, to be nothing, no one, so little and unremarkable that not even like would recognize like. 

“Do you know why you have been called here?” She asked, her tone unwavering, as calm as it was before. It sent chills down the hunter’s spine, the air around him turning cold, so much he almost expected to see his breath floating in front of his eyes.

She’d crush him, the queen. She’d look at him with those eyes of black and step on him like he was nothing but a bug, a hindrance to get rid off. It wouldn’t even be the first time, either. Whispers in dark alleys spoke of regicide, of a sorceress that had bewitched the former king, and killed him when he was no longer useful, the crown already on her head. 

Even if those were nothing but rumours, the hunter had not survived for as long as he had by being reckless.

“No, my queen,” he replied, eyes still cast down, shoulders hunched up. 

Nothing, no one, insignificant. A pebble on the side of the road, nothing worth attention, nothing worth being known.

“You are here because I want you to do something for me,” the queen said then. She spoke slowly, as if savouring her words, her eyes watching the hunter’s face, waiting for the barest hint of emotion. Her eyes flashed with something when she didn’t get it. “If you do, I will make you rich, richer then you could ever imagine.”

The hunter stood, unmoving, and drew a breath, feeling the air fill in his lungs.

“Your wish is my command, my queen,” he replied.

The queen smiled, a slow smile that stretched throughout her face. It made her even more beautiful. It made her even more terrifying.

“I want you to kill the prince,” the words, clearly enunciated, left no room for doubt. “And I want you to bring his body to me once it’s done.”

The hunter looked up, staring at the queen for the first time since he’d set foot in the throne room. Her eyes were already on him, had never left him, and he knew, instinctively, that he’d die, should he refuse her orders.

She might still kill him, even if he accepted.

“Your wish is my command, my queen,” he simply replied.

***

It was easy, for the hunter to catch the prince unaware. The queen had given him her commands, what he wanted him to do, and he’d listened intently to her, but the queen was no hunter, didn’t feel the thrill of the hunt in her veins like he did, and so he’d tucked that knowledge into a corner of his brain, and gone out to hunt.

Prince Hyunjin’s eyes were kind, hands as delicate as butterflies fluttering in the wind, his movements graceful as he walked. It would be a shame when the world lost him, his flame snuffed out by a queen who desperately clung to power.

That, the hunter hadn't asked, but he had lived long enough to recognize a predator, had seen enough to know when they’d been cornered, blindly striking out in a desperate attempt to survive.

The prince was kind, and warm, and even if he’d put up a fight when the hunter had taken him away, wrists bounded, a hand smothering his cries for help as he dragged him deeper into the shadows of the night, it had been easy enough to catch him unaware.

“Who are you?” The prince whispered as he lay on the ground, eyes wide with fear.

The hunter stared down at him. Gone was the crown that sat on the ashy brown hair, his clothes torn and stained with mud but, despite that, the prince still managed to appear regal. It must have been the royal blood that ran through his veins, he mused.

“Who are you?” The prince repeated, eyes growing even wider as he saw the hunting knife that dangled from his hip and for which the hunter now reached. The prince craned his neck around, looking for some means to defend himself, but the hunter knew what he’d been doing, and there was nothing.

“I’ve been ordered to kill you,” the hunter replied, his voice as calm as ever. He unsheathed the knife and stepped closer to the prince, even as he scrambled to get away. “Don’t go back to the castle,” he continued, knife glinting in the first rays of the sunrise as he cut the ropes that bound the prince’s hands together. The pieces fell to the ground as the prince closed his eyes, a muffled sob escaping through his parted lips. “The queen won’t let you live if you do.”

“The queen?” The prince repeated, surprise obvious in the lines of his face, as if it were unthinkable, to have the queen wishing his death so much he’d ordered him killed. 

“There’s a bag with supplies behind that big oak,” the hunter ignored the prince’s words, eyes already looking for something else. “It should last you a few days, until you find some town to disguise yourself in. Whatever you do, don’t go back to the castle, if you want us both to live another year.”

That said, the hunter turned around, ignoring the prince that lay still on the ground.

“Why did you help me?” Once again, the hunter ignored the prince’s question, as if he hadn’t heard him. “At least give me your name!” The prince cried out as he stood up, fingers shaking, wrists rubbed raw.

The hunter slowed down, looking back at the prince, at his kind eyes and hands like butterfly wings.

“Jeongin,” he whispered, and hoped the breeze had managed to carry his name back to the prince.

***

The hunter’s hands were steady as he extended his arms, palms turned towards the ceiling, carefully holding a greying heart in them. The queen hadn’t said a word since he’d stepped into the throne room, her eyes carefully trailing the small pouch that hung from his hip.

“My queen,” he said as he took the heart out, offered it towards her, a sacrifice from a devotee to their goddess.

With a flicker of her wrist, the queen motioned for one of the guards to walk towards the hunter, take the heart from him. The guard did so, face contorting into a grimace as he grabbed it, slipping back into the shadows once the queen had received it.

The queen held the heart between her hands. The hunter had expected her to recoil in disgust as soon as it touched her skin, dismiss him as soon as he’d fulfilled his duties, but was surprised at the faint gleam of sorrow that seemed to cloud her eyes, so fleeting he’d almost thought he’d imagined it.

Turning slightly, the queen placed the heart by her side, before returning her attention to the hunter.

“You have done well, hunter,” she said, and the hunter nodded, eyes cast down. “You have fulfilled your end of the bargain, and now, I will too. You can leave, but rest assured that, should you even _think_ of betraying me, I will find out, and it will be your heart that I will receive next.”

Nodding once again, the hunter stood up, bowing deeply as he did so.

“Of course, your majesty. No one will ever know,” he replied, before walking away, not once looking back.

***

Heeding the hunter’s words, the prince had run, through the trees and across creeks, run as the Sun moved across the sky, casting shadows upon the forest. He’d run even when he’d wished to stop, when his lungs had threatened to burst and his legs cried out in pain. He’d run like he could feel death chasing after him, could feel its cold touch closing on him, and hadn’t stopped until his vision had gotten blurry, his legs unable to carry him any further.

When his legs had stumbled and he’d fallen to the ground, unable to get back up again, when even his arms had refused to carry him away and darkness had begun to invade his sight, only then did the prince close his eyes, and surrendered himself to the nothingness.

***

The mirror stood looming over the queen, its golden frame almost glowing in the dying light that came through the balcony.

The queen, draped in silks of black, extended an arm towards it, tracing with a fingertip the patterns engraved on it. The edges dug into the pad of her finger, obvious enough to know that, should she press on a little further, they’d split its tender skin and feast on her blood.

Finally, the queen took a step back, letting her hand fall limply by her side, seeking refuge between the folds of her skirt.

The mirror’s surface rippled, her reflection smiling a languid smile in her direction, a delighted gleam in her eyes.

“My Queen,” she curtsied, bobbing her head, as silent as she always was. “We haven’t seen you much lately. We were beginning to worry,” there was a question there, woven in between the reflection’s words, but the queen ignored it, as she ignored all the others.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?” The queen asked, already knowing her answer. Her heart beat between the confines of her ribcage, an unsteady drum that betrayed the calmness of her voice.

Her reflection dipped her chin, lips moving to form her answer, and the queen breathed in, for that was normal, that was routine, and everything had gone back to being the way it should.

“My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Hyunjin is a thousand times more beautiful than you,” were the words that left her reflection’s lips, and the queen found herself unable to breathe, nails digging painfully into her palms.

“You’re wrong. Hyunjin is dead,” she spat out, grimacing as if the words burned her.

_I killed him_ , she didn’t say, but the mirror-queen smiled like she knew, as she knew everything else.

“Prince Hyunjin lives still, and he is a thousand times more beautiful than you,” the reflection replied as the mirror’s surface rippled again, taking her away.

In her stead, the mirror showed the prince, eyes alight, mouth upturned in a smile, very much alive. 

The queen took a wobbly step forward, her legs unable to keep her standing, teeth digging into her bottom lip. Her hands curled into fists, leaving wounds like crescent moons in her palms, a trickle of blood falling to the ground from them.

The image was gone soon, not leaving even a whisper behind it, the mirror-queen taking its place. Her mouth curved into a smile as she stared at the queen, pointed teeth unmistakable against the blood-red of her lips, eyes of solid black almost mocking her.

A whimper climbed up the queen’s throat, almost made it out before she swallowed it back, locked under a hundred keys. Her eyes were dry as she stared blankly at the mirror, saw the tendrils of black smoke that rose around her, commanded by a single look from the mirror-queen.

“You know what you must do, Siyeon,” they whispered, insidious voices that crawled up her spine and made themselves at home in her heart, poisoning everything until there was nothing but a barren emptiness behind. “We’ve given you everything you could ask for, and then some,” their murmurs were filled with mirth as they brushed against the queen’s ear, tried to convince her as if they didn’t already command her. “It is time you pay your dues,” they giggled. “Bring us the fairest of them all, bring us Hyunjin.”

Hours later, when the mirror was hidden away under a white sheet and the whispers were long gone, only their echoes remaining, the queen felt something in her unravel and break, droplets of water splashing against the floor beside her numbed feet.

High above the town that slept in the castle’s foothill, in the tallest balcony on the tallest tower of the castle, where her cries would never reach her subjects, the queen fell to her knees and wept, sobs clawing at her throat, tearing her apart.

***

The next time the prince opened his eyes, it was to a ceiling above his head and a pillow under his neck. The savoury smell of food floated in the air, and the faint noises around him made it obvious he was no longer alone.

Carefully, the prince sat up, wincing as his body groaned in protest. He needn’t have worried to move in silence, for by the time he had managed to straighten himself, he found six pair of eyes tracking his every movement.

“You’re awake. Good,” one of them, with hair of bright pink, said as he took a step forward. “We were worried you’d never wake up again.”

“Where…?” The prince attempted to ask, before the dryness of his throat made it obvious that was going to be difficult. One of the men around him, with shoulder-length blonde hair, silently handed him a cup of water, which he gratefully accepted.

“We found you passed out in the woods, not far away from here. Running away from something, huh,” the same man as before, presumably the leader, continued to speak. His tone was flat, the question more an asseveration than anything else, and the prince choked on the water he was still drinking.

“What—? Did you—?”

“No one knows you’re here, and no one will, don’t worry about that. We know the look in your eyes, the stench of fear,” their leader interrupted him, answering the question written in the prince’s eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin line and, around him, five grim faces nodded in unison. The prince dared himself breathe a little easier, feeling a glimmer of hope fluttering in his ribcage. “You can stay with us for as long as you want, no questions asked, as long as you are loyal, and earn your keep,” he continued, the offer in his words obvious.

“Thank you,” the prince whispered, eyes filling with unshed tears.

“There’s nothing to thank for, kid,” the leader replied, stern eyes turning kind. “Name’s Chan, what about you?”

The prince thought back to a crown resting between his curls, the weight of a title and surname on his shoulders, and licked his split lips.

“My name is Hyunjin,” he said.

“Then welcome to the crew, Hyunjin.”

***

The cauldron boiled up, green liquid swishing inside as it was stirred, twice clockwise, then again in an anti-clockwise motion.

It had been a long time since the cauldron had last been used, but the steps were easy, memories flooding her brain as her arms moved on their own accord, remembering the once familiar steps.

It was routine, it was easy. Easy enough that she could follow without thinking, familiar enough that she could do it without even glancing at what she was grabbing and slicing and mixing up inside, her fingertips used to the feeling of the ingredients she ought to use.

Easy enough that she instantly knew the droplets of saltwater that fell in the cauldron would mix with the rest of the liquid, not making a difference as they left no trace behind. The apple, sitting untouched by the cauldron, would fulfil its role, and soon there’d be one less prince in the world.

***

It ought to be harder, to leave everything once knew and had, to understand who he’d once been and who he’d been forced to become, but it wasn’t. Hyunjin found he belonged with the rest of the stray kids seamlessly, as if he’d always been one of them. It was easy, as natural and breathing. Even if they didn’t know who he was before, even if he didn’t know who they’d once been before, it was easy, no effort required.

Hyunjin earned his keep, made himself at home until memories of the castle’s halls began to blur in his mind, paling against the vibrant green of the woods, unable to compete with Felix’s bright laugh, Seungmin’s quiet love or Chan’s fierce protection. 

It was easy, to start to breathe among them, to let himself _believe_ , and that was probably his first mistake.

“The prince is here!” A voice shouted from outside, and the mug Hyunjin was holding slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

He stood still, fear rooting him to the ground, until Changbin grabbed him by the elbow, dragging him outside, so excited he didn’t even see the terrified expression on Hyunjin’s face.

It wasn’t until he stepped in the clearing that he saw, the rest of them huddled around a lone figure that approached the small cottage. There was a smile on his lips, even if his arm was on a sling, face bloodied and dirty. Even then, it wasn’t hard to recognize.

“Jeongin,” Hyunjin breathed out.

It was nothing more than a whisper, but, somehow, Jeongin looked in his direction, their eyes meeting over the heads of the others, and Hyunjin knew what would come from his mouth next.

“The queen knows you’re alive,” Jeongin said as he approached him, the others looking at them in mild surprise. Only Chan’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had been expecting it. “She is coming for you and, this time, she won’t stop until you’re dead.”

Jeongin reached for him, fingers digging into his right shoulder until it hurt. 

The castle returned to the prince’s mind, pieces of his broken dream laying at his feet, and Hyunjin knew he’d been a fool for hoping.

***

“She found me two days ago. Or rather, her men did,” Jeongin whispered to him when Hyunjin slipped to his side, the full moon bathing them in its light. No one had seen him leave the cottage, the rest of them in deep slumber, but Hyunjin had known Jeongin was outside, waiting for him. “She wanted to know where you were.”

“She tried to kill you,” Hyunjin took in the bruises and cuts marring Jeongin’s skin, couldn’t keep the pain from his voice as he spoke.

“I wouldn’t have told her where you were, even if I had known,” Jeongin’s words took Hyunjin by surprise, taken aback by the truth he could hear in his tone. “The world could do without a prince, but I couldn’t stand the thought of losing one kind man. There are not enough of you, as it is,” Jeongin replied, turning around to stare at Hyunjin, his face clear of any trace of deceit. Under the moon, bathed in silver, his eyes kind despite the shadows that clouded them, Jeongin appeared more like a deity than a mere mortal, and Hyunjin found himself understanding what led some to kneel before others, offering all that they had, that they were, to just one person. “She’ll find out where you are, though, and she’ll come for you.”

“And then, she’ll kill me,” Hyunjin whispered, but Jeongin shook his head, the corner of his lips turning down.

“If you’re lucky, you’ll die. If not, you’ll take her place, until there’s a new replacement, someone who will stand in your stead when you’re no longer beautiful, and then you’ll die, cast away and forgotten, hands stained red.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a hunter,” Jeongin replied simply, eyes cast towards the stars above them. There was a sad, bitter smile on his lips, one that Hyunjin hated upon sight. “I was once like you, until I was forced to learn about those like her. Your queen reeks of demon, and they won’t stop until they get what they want, they’ll set this world on fire if they want to. So, what are you going to do, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin thought back to the oak under which he’d buried the remains of a prince long since dead. He then turned his eyes back to Jeongin, a pensive expression to his face.

“I say let’s go save this kingdom.”

***

It had never occurred to him as strange before but the prince had never set foot in one of the towers of the castle. It had always been closed off to him, out of bounds even when his father had been alive.

It had always been like that, so it had never struck him as odd that no one would be allowed inside, even after his father had passed away.

As a kid, the prince had wondered what must have been inside, what kind of marvels did the tower hide from sight that required it to be inaccessible to others. Right then, as he slowly made the trek upwards, with his breath condensing into small puffs of white smoke the further up he went and fingers turning icy blue as the temperature dropped, he wished he could tear the whole tower to the ground, stomp on it until the rocks were ground into dust, and no one would ever remember it had once before existed.

Finally, the door to the last room appeared before them. The knob seemed to gleam even in the darkness, and the prince felt apprehension climbing up his spine, his brain begging at him to turn around and never look back. 

A warm hand found its way to the prince’s shoulder, that single point of contact enough to make him remember he was still breathing, still alive, and that there was something he had to do before he could leave that wretched place for good.

Breathing in slowly, the frozen air bruising as it pooled in his lungs, the prince turned the doorknob and went into the room.

It was nothing like he’d imagined it: a round room, void of all decoration except for a mirror that took up most of the space available on the wall it leaned against. The doors to the balcony were wide opening, droplets of water making their way inside through it. Outside, so close to the railing she would have fallen if the wind blew any stronger, was the queen.

“Your Majesty,” Jeongin called out, and the queen turned around to look at them.

Her face was pale, dark circles under her eyes, lips abused from biting on them. She cradled an apple to her chest, as if it were something precious.

“Hyunjin,” she called for him, her voice soft. Extending her arms, she presented the apple to him, and the prince stared blankly, feeling his confusion being mirrored in the hunter. “Take this, and it’ll be over. It’ll all end here,” she twisted her lips in a crazed grin, a mockery of her usual soft smile.

“Hyunjin, don’t listen to her,” the hunter replied. Hyunjin shook his head, and his eyes came into contact with the mirror, which suddenly seemed bigger than before.

“No! Don’t that! Don’t look at it!” Siyeon cried out, reaching out for the prince.

But the prince was already taken by the mirror, unable to tear his eyes away from it.

Distantly, a part of him noticed the hunter calling for him, noticed Jeongin shouting his name, but it was for nought, for he lived and breathed for that mirror, and no one would make him look away.

The surface of the mirror rippled, and the prince found himself staring at his reflection, a perfect copy of himself, if not for the eyes of solid black to stared at him from his own face.

“Welcome, my prince,” the reflection purred, a satisfied glint somehow not swallowed by the darkness of his eyes. “We have been waiting for you, for a long time. The Queen wanted to keep you from us, because she knew her time had come to an end, but you are here.”

“I am here,” the prince repeated, feeling almost in a daze.

“You are,” a smug grin lit up the reflection’s face, as he tilted his head to the side. “Come to stand with us. Give us your life, your face, and we’ll give you power. It’s been like this since the dawn of time: your father knew, as did his father and his father before that, even the queen knew once, even if she’s defied us. But you won’t defy us, will you, Hyunjin? Don’t you want to have everything you’ve ever wished? It’s easy, you just have to take my hand, and we’ll give it to you,” the reflection murmured, a persuading tone in his voice, and the prince found himself forgetting why he’d ever thought of saying no.

And then, as he extended his hand towards him, the mirror-prince exploded.

Hyunjin fell down, gasping for air he hadn’t known he was missing, his vision filled with black dots as he struggled to stay conscious. It was then that he saw her.

The queen’s hands were bloodied, knuckles split open as they gripped the sword’s pommel until they blanched, bones straining against the delicate skin. Her arms were cut, shards of glass fallen around her, and her eyes were crazed, a desperate look in them as she smashed the mirror to pieces.

It was only when she was satisfied, when there was no piece of the mirror bigger than the palm of her hand, that she turned around, frantically searching for Hyunjin. Jeongin came to stand between them, his body tense, but Siyeon let the sword fall to the ground with a clatter, and threw herself at Hyunjin, embracing him so tightly he thought she’d break his bones.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and Hyunjin felt her damp cheek against his. “I tried my best, I wouldn’t let them take you, I’m so sorry it wasn’t enough, I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough. I wanted this to end with me, I’m so sorry,” she repeated, again and again until Hyunjin hugged her back, a loose embrace from which she could break free if she so wanted.

“Don’t worry about it now,” he replied. “I know you tried your best.”

“We should leave,” Jeongin whispered urgently, kicking the apple away with a disgusted expression on his face.

Nodding, Hyunjin helped Siyeon to her feet, guided her towards the stairs until she stopped.

“I need to do something first,” she said. “Or this will never end.”

Shortly after, the three of them stood in the middle of the castle’s courtyard, bruised and scared, but still alive. Around them, the rain continued to fall, but it was softer, and the first cracks of sunrise were visible on the horizon.

“Will you stay?” Hyunjin asked as they watched the flames engulf the room, flames licking the sky through the open doors of the tallest balcony on the tallest tower of the castle, with not even the rain being a rival for it.

Soon, the town would stir awake, wondered what had happened. Hopefully, they’d never find out.

A hand found its way to his, warm fingers wrapping around Hyunjin’s.

“For as long as you want me too,” Jeongin replied, squeezing his hand as he smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it from me! This was my first attempt at writing Stray kids and it was honestly really fun, so I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did, and hopefully, you'll see me come back with another fic soon!  
> Let me know if you liked it, and if there are any questions or anything that's unclear, I'll be happy to explain!  
> Kudos and comments warm my heart!  
> [tw](https://twitter.com/starryjinsouls) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Val_99)
> 
> \- Val


End file.
